Story+1999-10-17+Los+Angeles,+CA

´´Good evening, evening, Los Angeles....thank you....got your new building here and uh.... it´s really, it´s really nice, you know, and uh (?)....when I pulled up, I thought I was playing at the Staples store actually....so I had all my stationary needs and uh....they said ´No, that´s, that´s not the place´...it was a little (?)....and uh, it´s a big building but, uh, it is important when you have a big building that people have to be able to get in....but uh, that, that can be tricky, they´ll figure that one out....let me see, the water pressure in the shower backstage for the kind of money that was paid for the place, it´s really not worth all of it....I´ve had a similar problem at home so I can understand....the sound´s real good on stage, you know, uh, oh, the skyboxes, too many of ´em, too many....and they´re too low, they´re down too low, that´s why they, they call ´em ´skyboxes´, they´re supposed to be way up (?)....they don´t call ´em ´middle-of-the-room boxes´....it´s also important for you folks up there, the idea is you have to come out of your room to see a rock show....(?)....that´s why, that´s why, that´s why I don´t play private parties any more....but uh....anyway, I though I saw Mr.Staples backstage before the show and, uh, I´ll be speaking to him immediately after, I´m sure by the next time you guys come in, we´ll have all that straight (chuckles) anyway....a little dedication....´´
 * 17.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro ´Mansion on the Hill´**

´´That’s right, people....take me there.....I wanna be baptized in the hands of the people.... that´s where I wanna go....I wanna go to the river....to the river of life....and the river of love ....and the river of faith.....and the river of hope.....and the river of sexual healing....that´s where I want to go tonight and I want you to go with me.....because I need to go with you..... because you can’t get there by yourself.....everybody tries.....and you can spend a long time trying but in the end you can’t get there by yourself.....and so I found myself, as a young man....I stood in front of a grove of dark trees, frightened to pass through those trees like a little child.....even though I knew on the other side was the river of life.....of a meaningful life .....and cold beer at a reasonable price....but my legs were like stone and my arms were like lead and I was about to give up, I said ‘Man, I’m gonna keep on running, I know how to do that, I’m gonna keep on running´....are you listening to me ? (cheers)....but just as I was about to give up, I heard a voice come through the trees, I stepped in and there was a gypsy lady and I told her my problem....and she said ´Well, son, what you need is.....you need a band to help you out´....and that’s why I’d like to introduce tonight the dean of the university of musical perversity, the Secretary of intelligence, Professor Roy Bittan on the piano.....with me at the riverside....I wanna introduce the Secretary of faith and friendship, the king of badabing, Silvio, Silvio, wherefore art you Silvio, star of ´The Sopranos´, Steve Van Zandt on the guitar....standing with me at the riverside.....the foundation of the E Street nation, Southern man, Mr.Garry W.Tallent....with me at the riverside.....the Minister of the mighty beat, the Secretary of syncopation, star of Late Night Television, the Mighty Max Weinberg on the drums.....standing with me at the riverside.....the Secretary of heart and spirit, Godfather of the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren.....standing with me at the riverside.....the Minister of mystery and all things unfathomable on E Street and in this life, Brother Dan Federici on the organ and accordion.....with me at the riverside....but, now, you´ve got to have love in your life, ladies and gentlemen.....yes you do !....and I learned the hard way a short lesson, it went: brunettes are fine, blondes are fun but when it comes to getting a dirty job done, it takes a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) yeah, man, I´m talking about a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I said I´m searching for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I´ve got to find myself a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) man, now, I´m looking for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I said I´m searching for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I´ve got to find myself a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) Miss Patti Scialfa on the guitar and sweet harmony ....standing with me at the riverside.....well, now....I don´t usually like....to endorse presidential candidates....but I´ve got to say Jesse Ventura, bodyslam yourself, Ross Perot, get back under the hood, crazy man....fascist-wanna-be Pat Buchanan, get out of here.... Donald Trump, take your money and your honey, shut up, you fool....Mr.(?), I know this is your town but you´ve got to step aside, Cybill Shephard, nah.....but I´d like to introduce a man tonight, the Minister of soul, the Secretary of the brotherhood, Emperor of all that is E Street´s, do I have to say his name ?....do I have to say his name ?....do I have to say his name ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....say who ?....´´
 * 17.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’**

´´Thank you.....wanna do this tonight, we got some friends with us from the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank....they work here in Los Angeles to mobilise the resources of your community and to fight hunger and problems relating to hunger....there´s so many people that the economy....is not reaching and uh....it´s a shame that, as we move into the next century, hunger´s still a problem in the United States and uh....so this is for the folks from the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank....check ´em out when you go out into the lobby, all the folks from the skyboxes (?) and uh....they deserve your support.....´´
 * 17.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro to ´The Ghost of Tom Joad´**

´´L.A !....I said Los Angeles !.....but everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen people lost in bitterness ....I´ve seen people lost in loneliness....lost in faithlessness....lost on the cellphones....lost in the wilderness, but we´re here tonight on a search-and-rescue mission....we´re here tonight on a search-and-rescue mission, if you´ve been downhearted, disspirited, disgusted, dispossessed, analyzed, downsized, paralyzed, stigmatised, fractionalised, retropsychedelicized, Pokemonized.....I´m here tonight to re-educate, resuscitate, reillustrate, regenerate, reconfiscate, reindoctrinate, resexualate, rededicate, reliberate you with the power and the glory, the majesty and the mystery, the power and the glory, with the ministry of rock and roll !....that´s right....that´s right....that´s right....that´s right....but unlike my competitors, I shall not, I will not, I cannot, I shall not promise you life everlasting....but I can promise you life....right now !....and all you gotta do is raise your hand and say ‘I’....´´
 * 17.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ´Light of Day´**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//